Foot-rest-operating mechanism for reclining chairs



A nl 21, 1925. 1 1,534,272

' I w. F. KQKEN v FOOT REST OPERATING MECHANISM FOR RECLINING 'GHAIRS med Dec. 14.'19 23 2 Sheets-Sheet].

.Z'Nvswroz Wa/fer F. Ko cn. I I

April 21, 1925. l 1,534,272

W. F. KOKEN FOOT REST OPERATING MECHANIS MFOR RECLIN ING CHAIRS F-i'led D50. 14. 1923 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 17v MENTOR lVq/f'ar E ratxenied a i. 21,1925.

D-I T-A' rsj warrenxo rniij'orsrfinours, MISSOURI.

i a I"i roor imsr ornnarine Mechanismroannonmineonams.

appueati itfila Ilec ember 14, 923." Serial no; so,722.-

To all 10711007212 omwmii 5 :new and useful [Improvement in Foote Rest-Operating ;Mechanisms for Reclinlng ioklappertainsi to intakeandusethesameifli of theqkind that areused by barber's, hair wand paramuaay i chairs of the kind that a e a position at substantially-fright angles se to the apron into a position wherein it is disposed in of recliningit-he back ofthechair. 1 l The main objectofmy present invention istoprovide achair ofthe generaltype re- 1 loweringthe of the chair soas to in- 1-30. sure thefoo-t rest beln'g disposed 111 a proper back of the chair is in its-fully reclinedpd l sitionlandwhenysaid .uprightposition. t a a r F Another object isto provide a chair of l the general" type {referred to; in which the i mechanisnrlthat is used fto effect thewmoveinent ofthe foot rest relatively .to theapron 'ight angles to the apron 'whenthe" back of vitho'ut depending; upon the engagement of the foot,restt rigidat suchf-times. Other objects and desirablekfeatures of ny invenftion will be hereinafterpointedoutl tional view of a chair embodying my inventijon, showing the back ofi'the cha rjarranged in its upright position,

back arranged in its fully reclined position U Beitlmowh that I, NVALErnn F KoKnm; "j a a citizen of' the United. States, residing at 8t. Louis, llfissouri, have invented a certain Chairs, ofl which the tollowingris-a;:full, clear, and. exact description, such as willy enable others skilledfin the art to winch it i 1 Thisinventionsrelates to adjustable chairs dressers andother specialists for supporting; a person onwhom the sp-eoialistis operat ng,

equipped with a wswingin'g j apronl and a "sw nging foot rest mo'unted inw'sm'clr a way that the foot rest will turn, from i longitudinal align-g ment with theapron during theoperatlon ferred to that is equipped with mechanism 1 for moving the foot rest relatively to the apron during the operation of raising and position with relation to the apron when the back isarranged in its so constructed that the foot rest will be "igidlyl held in a positional; substantially chair is arranged in its nprightposition,

rol1e1'sIojnYthe foot rest with the floor to hold Figure 11 0f the drawingsyis a i side have;

flFigure Qisa sim lar view showing the Figure *3 'is al bottom plan view of the y apron and toot rest, illustrating! said men i.

ure' 2; L and Figures a and 5 areperspective views, illustrating the action ofthe cams and parts that co operatje with same for: turning the foot rest relatively to the apron and for holding thefoot restrigid with respect to the apron l a y Seat,;G "designates the apron and D designates the foot rest, the back, seat and'apron beingcombined in such a 'inannerthat'they will move in unisoninto-longitudinal alignment with each other whenthe back is swung downwardly into its fully reclined; 1

position, shown in Figure 2, andwill move into a lpOSltlOIl at substantially right angles to each othenwhen the back is swung up wa-rdly into its upright position, shown in Figure 1. Said parts are carried by a frame E which may either be a stationa'ry; frame or; a frame that a can be raised anddowered, the frame E of the chair herein illustrated being carried by a spindle F that is mounted in a base G1. The armsrH of the chair may either be of the type that move in 'unison with the back,

seat and apron, orthey may bestationary arms thatare rigidly connected to front and rearuprightsl and 2 on theframe E. i The seat B is so arranged with relation to the arms that it will move forwardly and upwardly to-wards said armswhen the back A Referring to the drawings which illus trat'ethefpreferred fOITID \oflny invention, A designates the baclgfB designatesthe T'QF FICE. g

hersadjusted in the position shown Figl U isswung downwardly into itsfully reclined position and will move rearwardly and downwardly away fron said arnis'wlieilthe back is moved into its upright position. In

the form of my inventionherein illustrated "the back A isrigidly connected to a pair of levers 3 that are pivotally connected at& to

the rear uprights '2 onthe frame E, and the apron;@ isTigidlyconnected to a pairof;

levers 51that; are pivotally connected at 6 to move simultaneously either intothe position shown in Figure; 1,. or into the posit-ion shown in Figure 3 when the back is swung on its pivots 4-. The foot rest D is oscillatingly mounted on the apron preferably by brackets on said foot rest which are pivotally connected at 11 to the lower ends of the lovers 5 that carry the apron C, which brackets are equipped with extensions or arms 12 that bear against the underside of the apron when the back is fully'reclined, as shown in Figure 2, and thus maintain the foot rest in a horizontal position in longitudinal alignment with the apron.

Any suitable means can be employed for holding the back, seat and apron in adjusted position, the means herein illustrated for this purpose consisting of a jointed reclining bar of the kind described in my prior Patent No. 1,437,060, dated November 28, 1322, and composed of an intermediate portion 1 oscillatingly mounted on the frame E of the chair, a link or front portion 1 that is pivotally connected to the apron C of the chair and a rear portion that is embraced by a reclining bar clamp J carried by the spindle F of the chair and constructed in such a way that it can be actuated to release the rear portion 1 of the reclining bar by manipulating operating lever K when it is desired to change the position of the back, seat and apron of the chair. The intermediate portion 1 of the reclining bar consists of a substantially Y-shaped lever having one of its arms pivotally connected at 13 to a braclzet on the frame E, having one of its other arms pivotally connected at 14 to the front portion 1 of the reclining bar, and its third arm pivotally connected at 15 to the rear portion I of the reclining bar. When the hack and apron of the chair are arranged in an upright position, as shown in Eigure 1, the inte mediate portion of the reclining bar will hang downwardly from the frame E, and when the hack of the chair is swung downwardly into its fully reclined position, as shown in Figure 2, the intermediate portion I of the reclining bar will swing forwardly and upwardly into the position shown in Figure 2.

In achair of the general type above referred to it is essential that the foot rest D be maintained in a position at substantially right angles to the apron C when the back A of the chair is arranged in its upright position and swung from its right angular position into horizontal alignment with the apron when the back is moved downwardly do its fully reclined position. In order to insure this movement of the foo rest relatively to the apron and insure th foot rest being held rigid with respect 0 the apron when the back A of the chair is arranged vertically or in a partly clined position, I have equipped the chair with a foot rest operating mechanism that positively controls the movements of the foot rest relatively to the apron and holds the foot rest rigid with respect to the apron in certain positions of the apron. This is a very desirable characteristic of a chair of the general type referred to, as the portior. of the chair engaged by the legs and feet of the occupant will move automatically into such positions as to permit the legs and feet of the occupant to assume a natural position when the back of the chair is moved from one of its extreme positions into its other extreme position. Due to the fact that the foot rest operating mechanism is so con structed that it will hold the foot rest rigid with relation to the apron, in certain positions of the apron, the frame E of the chair which carries the seat, back and apron can be raised and lowered so as to change the elevation of the occupant of the chair, because the floor and rollers on the underside of the foot rest are not relied upon to hold the foot rest rigid when the heel; of the chair is arranged in its upright position. In other words, my improved chair is so constructed that the foot rest D will be rigid enough to sustain the weight of the or pant, notwithstanding the fact that the root rest is positioned some distance above the floor on which the chair stands, as is often the case with chairs of the type in which the seat and other cooperating parts of the chair can be bodily raised and lowered.

Various means can be used for effecting or controlling the movements of the foot rest relatively to the apron and for holding the foot rest rigid in certain positions of the apron, and while 1 have herein illustrated one form of foot rest operating mechanism that I have found to be very efficient, I do not wish it to be understood that my invention is limited to a chair equipped with a foot rest operating mechanism of this particular construction. Nor do I wish it to be understood that my i vention is limited to a chair equipped with a jointed clining bar, as herein illustrated, for various means could be used for holding the back, seat and apron of the chair in adjusted position without departing from the spirit of my invention. As shown in the drawings, the foot rest operating mechanism of the chair consists of a rock shaft L oscillatingl mounted in brackets 16 on the underfdc oi the apron C, a rigid arm 17 on the rock shaft L provided with a roller 18 that acts upon a cam M on the foot rest D O on the rock shaft L the a ii on c or extensions 12 or the brackets 10 on 1, foot rest. lllovement 1s nnparted to operating mechanism preferably by a 19 having one of its ends pivotally C(lllllQe-t'" ed at 20 to the ll ld arm 14 on the reel:

shaft L and having its opposite end pivotally connected at 21 to the trout portion I [the jointed reclining bar;

, The; g eam 'asfishownclearly in Figure 3, the brackets 7 16, on the apron thatcarry the 1 rock shaft L projecting .rearwardly and downwardly from said apronso asfto cause said rock Qshaft vto be arranged in proximity to the axis-of: movement of! the foot rest;

1 hen the'backAio-fxthelchair is arranged finite uprightpositionith le extensions or arms 12 of the bracketslOat theends ofthetoot @rest Dfwill project under the cams O on the rock shaft I At such times the rock shaft L is heldsecurely atrest by the link 19 which fwardfload. exerted on. the foot rest- D in a direction? tending to sw'ingthe frontedge of saidfoot rest downwardly, produced by the q occupant of the Qchair standing on the foot rest, iscounteracted or resisted bythe arms 12 on theg'foot rest "engaging the cams Q: on thegrock shaft. .i Whenthe back A of the chairyis swung downwardly intoreclining position, the apron (l ofthe chair will swing forwardly-i and upwardly. During the first part of the forward and upward movement L of the apron the foot rest D will be held at substantially right angles ,to the apron, due to theengagement ofthe arms Ben the foot restwwith the cams O-on therock shaft,,but when the-apron reaches a certain point in y 1 its forward and upward movement, the arms 12vpass outofengagement with'the cams O, whereupon gravity causes the foot rest to turn relatively to the aproninto such a posi- Vtio'n thatit willbe disposedin longitudinal V alignmentwithgthe apron by the time the back ofthe chair reaches its 'fully reclined j position shown inf Figure 2. :l/Vhen the a apronC is arranged in its vertica l position, flfas shownin Figure 1, the roller'18 on the lever 17 011 therock shaftLis positioned at the rear sideof said apron, but when the apron swings upwardlytowards its horizon tal position-the link 19;-that joins the rock said shaft to turn in; such a direction that 18 on said lever to engage; the cam on the underside olithe foot' restrD at aboutthe a time theyarinsliZon the foot restpass out of engagement with the camsO on the rock shaftg Consequently, bythe timethe foot tudinal ,align1nent"with the apron lClrqthe roller 18 on thej vlev er 17 will'beinengage ment with the cani'M as shown inFigureQ, At such timesysaid roller 1: and camprevent igtland th m-ms" 12 on the footrest which are mamas?- Mo-nthe footrest is arranged on the un-j derside ofisaidl foot rest at the center of" ,same, and the cams O on the rock shaftL are arranged at the ends of said rock shaft,

joinsthe'reclining barto thelever 17 on thegrockshaftlgL. Consequently, a down-- gshaft L to the jointed reclining:bar'causes* f the lever 17 moves forwardly-through a slot "'18 in the apron, thereby causing the roller.

rest reachesits horizontal position in longif the footflrest from'beingtilted upv ardly,

then in engagement with the imderside, of

the apronG prevent said foot rest fronixtilting downwardly. Inthereverse movement i of saidparts,na1nely; when the back A: of the chair is swung upwardly towzirdsits vertical position, the lever 17 on theaock shaft L co-operates with the cam M on the foot rest to turn the foot rest into arposition at suhstantially right angles to the apron-C during the first portion of the downward movement of the apron, due to the fact that theshatt L starts to ,turn as soon as the apron C startsto movedownwardly, and

this oscillating movement of the shaft it causes the ,rollerf18 on the lever 17 to exert pressure on 1- the camilVI in a direction to swing the front edgeof the foot rest D upwardly; Thepartsof the foot rest operating mechanism are; somproportioned and ar ranged that thearms12 on the iootrest will I move into operative relationship with the; f.

cams .O' at about the time the roller 1 8" on "the lever 17 passes out ofengagement; with the convexed surface a: of the cam "M, therej by causing the foot rest D'to be maintained 1 in theposition into which it has been moved g by thelever 17 and cam M, the above, de-

scribed movements being: illustrated clearly inFi'gures 1 and5, wherein Figure 5 shows the roller 18 about to pass out ofengagementl withthe cam M andthe arms 12onthefoot rest about to pass into operative engagement with the cams O. During the remainder of the downward movement of the apron C the cams O and the rockshait L co-operate with the arms12 on the foot rest to hold the foot rest in a "position at substantially right 1 angles to the apron, which relative position; 'ofthe foot rest and apron is vmaintained un til the backof the chair is again moved into its fully reclined position. i

From the foregoing it will be seeii that i my invention greatly improves the operation; l of chairs of the type thatcomprise a su ingl t ing apron and a swinging foot restybecause it provides means :for accurately controlling "the movement: of the foot rest relatively to the aprOnandcauSing the foot rest toturn automatically into a horizontal position as the baekot thechairapproaches its fully ret clined positionland into a'position at right anglestoythe apron when the back at thechair starts to swing upwardly from" its fullygreclinedposition, When the back is fullyreclined the-g footlrest is held in rigid relation with the apron, and during the downwardmovement ofthe apron after the foot rest has beenturned into an'angular positioin," said foot rest is held in rigid relation i with the apron. "Also when the back of the a chairis in itsnpright position the foot rest is held rigid and is prevented from tilting downwardly,- eventhough the occupant of the chair stands on thetfoot r'estgat a time t [when the foot rest;isflpositionednsome dig- H II tance above the floor on which thechair is mounted.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

l. A chair provided with an adjustable apron that is adapted to bemoved from a vertical position into a horizontal position and vice versa, an adjustable foot rest combined with said apron,'means torholding the foot restrigid and ina positionat substantially right angles'to the apron when theapron isdisposed verti'callyand during the first portion of the upward movement of the apron, and an independent means that assists in holding the foot rest in rigid longitudinal alignment with the apron when the apron is disposed horizontally, said inclependent means causing the foot rest to turn into angular relationship with the apron during the downward movement of the apron.

2. A chair provided with a swinging apron, a swinging foot rest combined with said apron, a rock lever arried by the apron for moving the foot rest, means for causing said lever to automatically turn the foot rest into a position at substantially right angles to the apron during the clownward movement of the apron from its elevated position, arms on said foot rest that project rearwardly beyond the axis of movement of same, and means carried by the apron that co-operates with said arms to hold the foot rest rigid.

3. A chair provided with a swinging apron, a swinging foot rest combined with said apron, a rock lever carried by the apron for moving the foot rest, means for causing said lever to turn the foot rest into a position at substantially rightangles to the apron during the downward movement of the apron from its elevated position, a cam carried by the apron, and a part on the foot rest that is adapted to move into engagement with said cam so as to lock the foot rest after the foot rest has been moved into the position referred to by said lever.

&. A chair provided with a swinging apron, a swinging foot rest combined with said apron, a cam carried by one of said members, and a cam engaging element carried by said other member and arranged so that it co-operates with said cam to hold said members in fixed relation in one position of the apron and to automatically release the foot rest during the upward movement of the apron.

5. A chair provided with a swinging apron, a foot rest pivotally mounted on said apron, a rock shai't carried by the apron and provided with a lever, a cam on the foot rest that co-operates with said lever to turn the foot rest into an angular position with relation to the apron, arms on the foot rest, independent'cams on said rock shaft that cooperate withsaid arms to hold the foot rest in a certain position with relation to the apron, and means for causing said rock shaft to turn when the apron is moved from one position into a different position.

6. A reclining chair providedwith a back and an apron that move in unison, a foot rest pivotally mounted on'the-apromand an operatingmechanism for the foot rest that is rendered operative by the movement of the apron, said 0 crating; mechanism comprising means forliolding the foot rest rigid and in -a position at substantially right angles to the apron when the back is in its upright position, means for causing the foot rest to move into longitudinal alignment with the apron when the back is arranged in its fully reclined position and means for thereafter turning the foot rest into a position at right angles to the apron and locking the foot rest in said position when the back is moved from its fully reclined position into its upright position.

7. A chair provided with a swinging apron, an adjustable back operatively connected with said apron, a foot rest pivotally mounted on the apron, mechanism for holding the back and apron in adjusted position, a transversely-disposed rock shaft carried by the apron, means actuated by said holding mechanism for operating said shalt when the position of the back is changed, and co-operating and foot rest for automatically turning the foot rest into a position at substantially right angles to the apron during the downward movement oi? the apron from its elevated position.

8. A reclining chair provided with a pivotally mounted back, a pivotally mounted apron that moves in unison with the back, a foot rest pivotally mounted on the apron, a reclining bar for holding the back and apron in adjusted position, and mechanism operatively connect-ed with said reclining bar for resisting movement of the foot rest relatively to the apron in certain positions of the apron and for automatically swing ing the foot rest relatively to the apron when the apron is moved from one position into a different position.

5). A chair provided with a swinging apron, a foot rest pivotally mounted on the apron, arms on the foot rest whose ends are adapted to move into engagement with the apron and co-operate with same to hold the foot rest in longitudinal alignment with the apron when the apron is in its elevated position, and a lever on the apron rendered 1'- erative by the donniward movement oi the apron for turning the foot rest into a posi tion at substantially right angles to the apron.

10. A chair provided with a swinging means on said rock shaftllif) apron, aswinging footgrest carried by the apron; a rock shaft onthe' apron, a lever on said rock shaft for turning the foot rest into an angular position with re'lationrto the} apron when the apron movesdownwardly from its elevated position, cams onsaid rock shaft, and arms on the foot rest that 00- operate withsaid cams when the apron isin its uprightposition to hold the foot rest a V at substantiallyrightangles to the apron and which co-operategwith,the apron. to hold a the foot rest in longitudinal alignment with i thefapron when theapron positionQ -w a a 1 11. A "reclining chair provided -with an adjustable back, an adjustable apron, an adjustable foot rest carriedby theapron, a

isin its horizontal jointed recliningbarfor holding said ele y ments n ad usted position; said reclining bar comprising; an oscillating n ember conlowered.

. neoted by a linlrwith the apron, and mecha nism operatively connected; with said link 7 for holdingthe foot rest in rigid relation with the apron at right angles to same when l the back is in its upright position and for permitting the foot rest to move under the influence of gravity into longitudinal align ment with the apron when the back is 12. A reclining chair, comprising a frame,

with the link that joins the apron to the ffroclrable member of ther'ecliningbar, cams a arranged at the ends of said rockshaft and a p adapted to co-operate with arms on the foot rest to i'esist movementofthe foot rest in one direction relatively'to the apron when the back of the chair isin its upright position, and a cam on the underside ofthe foot- ,with the apron, a rock shaft mountedin rest that co-operates withthe lever on the rock shaft to turnthe foot rest into a position at substantially right angles to the apron when the back of the chair: is moved upwardlyffrom its fully reclined position.

13. A reclining chair, comprising'a'frame, I

an adjustable back and an adjustable apron mounted on said frame, afoot rest pivotally mounted on said apron, a reclining bar for holding the back and apron in adjustedposition comprising arockable membermounted on said frame and connected by a link bearings onthe underside ofthe apron, a lever on sa d rock shaft connected by a link with the link that'joinsthe apron to the.

rockable member of the reclining bar, cams arranged at the ends of said rock'shaft and adapted to co-operate with arms on the foot rest to resist movement of the foot rest in a one direction relatively to: the apron when the back of-the chair is inits upright positionyand a camonthe underside of the foot tion Iat substantiallyright angles to the apron when the backof the chair is moved -75 the 'armson the foot rest being so arranged a upwardly from its fully reclined position,

that they will bear against the apron, thus holding the foot rest in longitudinal alignment with same whenthe apron is in its a 80 horizontal position and will lnove into en- 7 gagement with the cams on the rock shaft,

thereby locking the foot rest at about the a a "time the cam on the foot rest passes out of engagement with the lever on the rock shaft.

WALTER F; Ko n 76 rest that co op'erates with the lever. on the roolrshaft to turn the foot rest into a posi 

